Product reviews have always been a controversial topic for eCommerce store owners. There are some eCommerce marketers who have had a really bad experience by displaying product reviews on their product page, but there are others who keep raving about how well the reviews have improved their conversions.

So, it’s time we strip down what the product review functionality means to the eCommerce business and customers.

What Product Reviews Mean To Customers

Let’s start with some facts, even though price is the most important factor for eCommerce customers to buy a product, reviews are the deciding factor.

Statistics show that 63% of customers prefer to transact in an eCommerce website that hosts product reviews. It’s purely because the product review section is the best place for customers to either vent out their frustration or express delight. Therefore, product reviews are important to shoppers who don’t have the luxury to physically experience the product before buying them.

One can argue and state that the product description gives all the information needed about the product. But that’s not true as it doesn’t reflect the sentiment of a customer who has seen and experienced the physical product.

Why Bad Reviews Shouldn’t Bother You

Most eCommerce marketers shy away from product reviews because they are scared what customers might think about their product and services. On the contrary, reports state that 86% of customer buying decision are influenced by bad reviews.

Let’s assume that you are looking to buy a new phone. You visit a product page and you find nothing but good reviews over there. How likely are you to trust the 5 star ratings displayed there?  Not very much, as 95% of customers tend to question the genuineness of the eCommerce store when they read only good reviews.

This is where bad reviews improve your eCommerce credibility because different people have different opinions. Customers read reviews hoping to understand the nature of the product and what to expect when they receive them.

Negative reviews also pave the platform to help you serve your customers better. By actively responding to customer’s negative reviews and providing solutions, you can easily gain their confidence as well as convert shoppers by showing off your proactive customer support.

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Help Your Product Rank Well In Search Engines

Search engines love content, being an online entrepreneur, you are no stranger to this fact. When you let customers review your products, the text content on the page increases. There is fresh content that gets updated on the website on a regular basis to boost traffic. The user generated content automatically boosts  rankings for various long tail keywords and phrases, helping your eCommerce product rank organically.

You also get to rank for important keywords like ‘<product name> + review’ which would be the potential keyword for customers who are looking for such products.

Let Customers Engage

When you have numerous reviews on your product page, customers are prone to spend a longer time engaging with your eCommerce offering.

You can also let the shoppers ask questions about the products to further improve engagement. Whenever they are confused about the product, all they need to do is ask questions. This lets you identify serious buyers who care about their purchase. By addressing their queries proficiently, you create a long lasting relationship with your customer by building trust and loyalty.

Getting Customers To Review Is No Walk In the Park

The biggest problem that eCommerce store owners have is that customers love to read reviews but don’t prefer writing them. It’s true, we are hypocrites!

To get customers to contribute to your reviews, you should start sending out reminder emails after every delivery prompting them to review their purchases. There are few eCommerce marketers who incentivize shoppers for providing reviews.

But as an eCommerce marketer or owner,  you have your plates full.  There are various tools that let you easily automate the review generationprocess. Customers can send in their reviews through in-mail forms which eliminates the need for them to login to submit their reviews.

Pay attention when you are choosing your review generation tool, only when it lets you index the product review, you can fully yield the SEO result. Otherwise, it’s just a conversion tool that serves little purpose in bringing in new customers.

As a branded Shopaholic, I am a regular customer on plenty of online stores. To be honest, I have had both, good and bad experiences in most of the eCommerce websites that I frequent, but this has never stopped me from visiting their website again. So, bad experiences doesn’t faze customers, but lack of trust will.

So push aside the doubt and give what the customers expect. Reviews are important as 70% of customers read reviews before buying the product. The eCommerce market is extremely competitive, product reviews help build customer’s trust and loyalty needed to overcome the competition and improve your eCommerce conversion.

About The Author: Krithika is the Content Strategist at Innoppl. She works with her team of eCommerce personalization experts at TargetBay to craft actionable eCommerce conversion articles. When she isn’t writing, you can find her running behind her 4-year-old son and on the quest to lose weight  (by doing nothing … hmmm) Feel free to drop in your tips to @Kixygal87